Recycled cement production, with zero emissions

Recycled cement production, with zero emissions | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Recycled cement production, with zero emissions Curtis Berlinguette, Tengxiao Ji, Shaoxuan Ren, Yumeng Yang, Gaopeng Jiang, and 6 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5398260/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 21 Oct, 2025 Read the published version in Nature Communications → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract We report here the electrochemical production of clinker clinker precursor, containing calcium derived from the electrolytic decomposition of waste cement. Our “cement recycler” contains a cement electrolyzer, coupled to a cement digestion vessel, and a Ca(OH) 2 isolation vessel. The cement electrolyzer creates acid and base equivalents and converts waste cement into calcium hydroxide and silica. The electrolyzer is demonstrated at current densities up to 300 mA cm –2 to produce yields of >80% for Ca(OH) 2 . We experimentally verified a 99.8% reduction in CO 2 emissions when using fresh waste cement, and an 80% reduction when using aged cement (enriched with absorbed CO 2 ) from a demolition site. Our cement recycler bypasses the need for virgin limestone and could cut global CO 2 emissions by nearly 1 Gt annually, while also helping divert substantial waste cement from landfills. Physical sciences/Engineering/Chemical engineering Physical sciences/Chemistry/Electrochemistry/Electrocatalysis Full Text Additional Declarations Yes there is potential Competing Interest. T.J., S.R., and C.P.B. have filed a US provisional patent application on the work presented in this manuscript. The remaining authors declare no competing interests. The remaining authors declare no competing interests. Supplementary Files 12.2024Supplementaryvideo1AvisualdemonstrationoftheIntegratedRecycleroperatedat200mAcm2.ThegenerationofHandOHXXXionsintheclosedloopelectrolytewithanadditionofpHindicatoreffectivepHrange4XXX10duringe.mp4 Supplementary video 1 2.2024SupportinginformationRecycledcement.pdf Supplementary information Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 21 Oct, 2025 Read the published version in Nature Communications → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5398260","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":379841468,"identity":"073dfb74-15fa-4ff3-b839-263531b8e382","order_by":0,"name":"Curtis 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The remaining authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"Recycled cement production, with zero emissions","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"nature-portfolio","isNatureJournal":true,"hasQc":false,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Nature Portfolio","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":false,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"ejp","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5398260/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5398260/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"We report here the electrochemical production of clinker clinker precursor, containing calcium derived from the electrolytic decomposition of waste cement. Our “cement recycler” contains a cement electrolyzer, coupled to a cement digestion vessel, and a Ca(OH)\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e isolation vessel. The cement electrolyzer creates acid and base equivalents and converts waste cement into calcium hydroxide and silica. The electrolyzer is demonstrated at current densities up to 300 mA cm\u003csup\u003e–2\u003c/sup\u003e to produce yields of \u003e80% for Ca(OH)\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e. We experimentally verified a 99.8% reduction in CO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e emissions when using fresh waste cement, and an 80% reduction when using aged cement (enriched with absorbed CO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e) from a demolition site. 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